HIP HOP AND COVID-19 ADVENT IN NIGERIA
Music as we know it the soul of entertainment. Everything in the in the industry needs it. Think of movies without soundtracks or momentary sound effects, a bar/restaurant without music (loud or background), sport match with no music interlude and we can go on with this. A lot has come to be connected to music over the years.
The different genres of music have their different followership. Many listeners love multiple genres while some stick to just one or rate one above another. Hip hop in this mix is one of the most controversial. Many people with hip-hop appeals always believe it is the greatest because a level of intelligence in poetry, rhymes, word stringing and story telling are important to sway the hip hop lovers. As much as this is true, it is also important to note that this is obtainable as well in other music genre although many strings or garbage can also be used to gain attention by these other types of music.
The Covid-19 situation has in no little way affected the entertainment industry. In fact, those who depend on shows and public appearances have had their taste of downtime and bitter times due to the lockdown and gathering restrictions. Despite this, many artistes have spent these times growing their arts by introspective moments afforded them by the time and solitude they gain from these changes.
Hip-hop, been one of the most intellectually demanding of these genres has benefitted from the recent events. Hip-hop artistes have had the time to build very many body of work with less tension and better focus. This has been evident in the recent releases and online shows/engagements we have seen.
Taking Nigeria as a case study, so many hip-hop body of works released between 2020 and 2021 have either been the most conscious or the best body of work by such artistes.
We have examples in the following, in no particular order:
- The Live Report – MI Abaga & AQ
- Vibes and Insha Allah – Reminisce
- Illy Chapo X – IllBliss
- God’s Engineering – AQ
- Judah EP – MI Abaga
- Carpe Diem – Olamide
- Cult – Paybac
- Verses After Dark – Teeto Ceemos
These are just a few of the works done in 2020 and they are arguably either the best true hip hop works ever done by these artistes or the most conscious. It then geos to say that the lockdown, the restrictions have gone down to play great roles in the making of these great bodies of work.
If you have any comments such as more bodies of work to be added or any further comments, please react in the comment section.
